Brake rigging



Sept. 20, 1938, w. A. GANTNER BRAKE R'IGGING Filed Dec. 10, 1937 it a;.o .MW 0 o a fl ML 2% i o 5. mm QM. MM. mm mwN Q Q. Q m |.L||l. 7!.IIil;

' INVENTOR Willzam A. Gan I762? HIS A'I'I'ORNEY Patented Sept. 20, 1938v UNITED. STATES PATENT oFFicE BRAKE EIGGING William A. Gantner,Wilkinsburg, Pa., assignor to The American Brake Company, Swissvale,Pa., a corporation of Missouri Application December 10, 1937, Serial No.179,158

8 Claims. (01. 188-46) My invention relates to'brake rigging for railwayvehicles, and particularly to brake rigging for six wheel locomotiveengine trucks wherein brake shoes are applied to both sides of eachwheel.

"One object ofmy invention is to provide a brake rigging of the typedescribed having two separateand independent sets of interconnected rodsand levers, one for actuating the brake shoes which are-located at theforward sides of the wheels, and another for actuating the brake shoeswhich are locatedat the rear sides of the Wheels,'whereby, if thebrakes'which are located Ohlthe one side of the wheels fail to functionfor any reason, an equalized braking effort will still result on eachwheel from the brakes which are locatedon the other side of the wheelsxAnother object of my invention is to provide a brakesrigging' of thetype described, the operating parts ofwhich are so located with respectto ;the adjacent parts of the vehicle as to permit the propermovementofthe various parts of the rigging without interference with or by theadjacent partsof the vehicle.

"The said invention is an improvement on ;disclosedin 'an applicationfor Letters Patent of the United States," Serial No. 119,651, filed byFred 0. Craig, on January 8, 1937, for Brake rigging. I

I shall describe one :form of brake rigging embodying my invention, andshall then point out the novel features thereof in claims.

In the accompanying drawing, Fig. 1 is a top plan View showing brakerigging embodying my invention applied to the wheels of a six wheel en-.gine truck, the usual hanger levers, brake heads, and brake shoes beingomitted to simplify the drawing. Fig. 2'is a side elevational View ofthe brake rigging shown inFig'. 1.

.Similar reference characters refer to similar uparts in both views. 1

:Referring to the drawing, the reference characters l, 2, and-3designate the wheels of a six wheel engine truck such as'is now beingproposed for use in place of the usual two or four uwheel engine truck,the various parts of the truck other than the, wheelsbeing omitted fromthe drawingztosimplify and clarify the disclosure.

,EDiSPOSGd .at the forward and rearsides, respectively, of the wheels Iare brake beams 4 hand 5, and disposed at the ,forward and rear 50sides, respectively, of the wheels 2 are brake beams B and I, whiledisposed at the forward andrear sides, respectively, of the wheels 3 arebrake beams 8 and 9. Each brake beam is mov- 55;;ably supported at [eachend from the engine that frame by means of hangers l0 carrying brakeheads H provided with brake shoes 12 for engagement with the wheels.

The three brake beams 5, l, and 9 which are located at the forward sidesof the wheels are actuated through the medium of a first set ofinterconnected rods and levers, by a first brake cylinder DI, While thethree brake beams 4, 6, and S which are located at the rear sides of thewheels are actuated through the medium of a second set of interconnectedrods and levers, bya second brake cylinder D2. The two brake cylindersD! and D2 are preferably located at the longitudinalcenter line of thetruck adjacent its .rear and front ends, respectively, and may besecured to the truck frame in any convenient manner not shown. The twobrake cylinders are of the usual type, and each includes the usualcylinder portion, reciprocable piston (not shown), return spring (notshown), and push rod 13 operated by the piston.

The set of operatively connected rods and levers which actuate the threeforwardbrake beams 5, l, and 9 includes a vertically disposed brakecylinder lever M, a horizontally disposed main equalizer lever 15, andfour horizontally disposed auxiliaryequalizer levers IS, IT, l8, and IS.

The brake cylinder lever I 4 is pivotally supported intermediate itsends, atthe rear side of the axle which connects the wheels I, on apivot pin 20 mounted in suitable spaced supports 2| provided on thetruck frame, and is operatively connected at its upper end with the pushrod l3 of the brake cylinder DI by means of a clevis connection22. Thelower end of the lever I4 is operatively connected through the medium ofa slack adjuster Ma of the usual and well-known construction with oneend of a strap link 23, the other end of which is pivotally connectedwith the center of the main equalizer lever 15.

The main equalizer lever 15 and the two auxiliary equalizer levers l6and i! are located at the rear side of the brake beam 5 in the samehorizontal plane as this brake beam, and the opposite ends of the mainequalizer lever are operatively connected with the two auxiliary leversintermediatetheir ends by means of strap links 24 and 25. The inner endof the auxiliary equalizer lever i6 is pivotally connected to a member26 which is rigidly secured to the brake beam 5, and the inner end oftheauxiliary equalizer lever I1 is similarly pivotally connected to amember 21 which is also rigidly secured to the brake beam 5, the pointsat which the members 26 and 31 are secured to the brake beam 5 beingequally spaced from the adjacent ends of the beam. The outer end of theauxiliary equalizer lever H3 is operatively connected through the mediumof a pull rod 28 with the auxiliary equalizer lever l8, while the outerend of the auxiliary equalizer lever I1 is operatively connected throughthe medium of a pull rod 29 with the auxiliary equalizer lever IS. Thepull rod 28 is provided at the end which is connected with the auxiliaryequalizer lever I6 with a jaw 28a. which straddles the brake beams 5 and6 with suiiicient clearance to permitiree longitudinal movement of thepull rod relative to these brake beams, and which receive the equalizerlever IS with some clearance, and at the opposite end with a jaw 28bwhich receives the equalizer lever l8 with some clearance. The pull rod29 is similarly provided at the end which is connected with theequalizer lever ll with a jaw 29a which straddles the brake beams 5 and6 with sufiicient clearance to permit free longitudinal movement of thisrod relative to these brake beams; and which receives the equalizerlever I! with some clearance, and at its opposite end with a jaw 2911which receives the equalizer lever l9 with some clearance.

The two equalizer levers l8 and I9 are located at the rear side of thebrake beam 1 in the same plane as this brake beam, and are operativelyconnected at their lower ends with the brake beam 1 at points equallyspaced from the ends of this brake beam by means 01' members 38 and 3!,respectively, which are rigidly secured to this brake beam, and whichreceive the equalizer levers at their free ends with some clearance. Theouter ends of the auxiliary equalizer levers l8 and I9 are operativelyconnected with the brake beam 9 at points equally spaced from its end bymeans of pull rods 32 and 33, respectively. The pull rod 32 is similarto the pull rods 28 and 29 and is provided at the end which is connectedwith the auxiliary equalizer lever l8 with a jaw 320. which straddlesthe brake beams 1 and 8 with sufficient clearance 'to permit freelongitudinal movement of the pull rod relative to these brake beams, andwhich receives the lever I8 with some clearance, and at the opposite endwith a jaw 321) which receives the brake beam 9 with some clearance. Thepull rod 33 is likewise simi- 'lar to the pull rods 28 and 29, and isprovided at the end which is connected with the auxiliary equalizerlever I9 with a jaw 33a which straddles the brake beams l and 8 withsufficient clearance to permit free longitudinal movement of the pullrod relative to these last mentioned brake beams, and which receives thelever IS with some clearance, and at the opposite end with a jaw 331)which receives the brake beam 9 with some clearance.

The set of operatively connected rods and levers which actuates the rearbrake beams 4, 6, and 8 is slightly difierent from the set justdescribed and includes a vertically disposed cylinder lever 34, ahorizontally disposed main equalizer lever 35, and four horizontallydisposed auxiliary equalizer levers 36, 31, 38, and 39. The brakecylinder lever 34 is pivotally supported intermediate its ends, in rearof the axle which connects the wheels 3, on a pin 40 mounted in suitablesupports 4| provided on the engine frame, and is operatively connectedat its upper end with the push rod l3 of the brake cylinder D2 by meansof the clevis connection 22. The lower end of the lever 34 isoperatively connected with one end of a strap link 42 by means of. a

mediate its ends.

slack adjuster which is similar in all respects to the slack adjusterwhich connects the lower end of the lever I4 with the strap link 23. Thestrap link 42 straddles the brake beams l and 8 with sufficientclearance to permit free longitudinal movement of this link relative tothese brake beams, and is pivotally connected at its free end with thecenter of the main equalizer lever 35.

The main equalizer lever 35 is disposed in the rear of the brake beam 1in the same horizontal plane as the two brake beams I and 8, and isoperatively connected at its opposite ends with the auxiliary equalizerlevers 36 and 31 intermediate their ends by means of strap links 43 and44. The auxiliary equalizer levers 36 and 31 are disposed adjacent theforward side of the brake beam 8 in the same horizontal plane as thebrake beams I and 8, and the strap links 43 and 44 straddle the twobrake beams 1 and 8 with sufficient clearance to permit free relativelongitudinal movement of these strap links relative to these brakebeams. The outer end of the auxiliary equalizer lever 36 is pivotallyconnected to a member 45 which is rigidly secured to the brake beam 8,and the outer end of the auxiliary equalizer lever 31 is similarlypivotally connected to a member 46 which is also rigidly secured to thebrake beam 8. The inner end of the auxiliary equalizer lever isoperatively connected through the medium of a pull rod 41 with theauxiliary equalizer lever 38 intermediate its ends, and the inner end ofthe auxiliary equalizer lever 31 is similarly operatively connectedthrough the medium of a pull rod 48 with the auxiliary equalizer lever39 inter- The pull rod 41 is provided at the end which is connected withthe equalizer lever 36 with a jaw 41a which straddles the main equalizerlever 35 and the two brake beams l and 8 with sufficient clearance topermit free longitudinal movement of this pull rod relative to theseparts, and the end which is connected with the auxiliary equalizer lever38 is provided with a jaw 4'") which receives this equalizer lever withsome clearance. The pull rod 48 is similar to the pull rod 41 and isprovided at one end with ajaw 48a which straddles the main equalizerlever 35 and the two brake beams I and 8 with sufiicient clearance topermit free relative longitudinal movement of this pull rod relative tothese parts, and at the end which is connected with the auxiliaryequalizer lever 39 with a jaw 48b which receives this equalizer leverwith some clearance.

The auxiliary equalizer levers 38 and 39 are disposed in the same planeas the brake beams 5 and 6 adjacent the forward side of the brake beam 6and are operatively connected at their inner ends with the brake beam 6by means of members 49 and 50 which are rigidly secured to this brakebeam. The outer ends of the auxiliary equalizer levers 38 and 39 areoperatively connected with the brake beam 4 at points equally spacedfrom its ends by means of pull rods 5| and 52. The pull rod 5| isprovided at the end which is connected to the equalizer lever 38 with ajaw 51a which straddles the main equalizer lever I5, the auxiliaryequalizer lever l6, and the two brake beams 5 and 6 with sufficientclearance to permit free longitudinal movement of the pull rod relativeto these parts, and at its opposite end with a jaw 5| b which receivesthe brake beam 4 with some clearance. The pull rod 52 is similar to thepull rod 5|, and is provided at the end which is connected with theauxiliary equalizer lever 39 with a jaw 52a which straddles the mainequalizer lever I5, the auxiliary equalizer lever I6, and the two brakebeams 5 and 6 with sufficient clearance to permit free longitudinalmovement of this pull rod relative to these members, and at its oppositeend with a jaw 525 which receives the brake beam 4 with some clearance.

With the above described construction, it will be noted that all of theinterconnected rods and levers of each set with the exception of the twobrake cylinder levers I4 and 34 are located in the same horizontal planeas the brake beams, and are supported solely by the brake beams,thuseliminating the. necessity for auxiliary supporting means, and hencegreatly simplifying the mounting of the brake rigging on the enginetruck.

When it is desired to apply the brakes, fluid under pressure issimultaneously supplied to both brake cylinders DI and D2 through theusual air brake control means, thereby causing the pistons of thesecylinders to move outwardly, and move the associated push rods I3outwardly. The outward movement of the push rod I3 of cylinder DI actsthrough the brake cylinder lever I4 and strap link 23 to apply power tothe main equalizer lever I5, which power is transmitted by means of thestrap links 24 and 25 to the auxiliary equalizer levers I6 and I! inequal stresses. At the auxiliary equalizer levers I6 and I I the powersdivide, and one-third of this power is transmitted through the medium ofthe members 26 and 21 to the brake beam 5, while the remainingtwo-thirds of this power is transmitted through the medium of the pullrods 28 and 29 to the auxiliary equalizer levers I8 and I9 in equalstresses. The power which is supplied to the auxiliary equalizer leversI8 and I9 again divides, and one-half of this power is transmittedthrough the medium of the members 30 and 3| to the brake beam 1, whilethe remaining half of this power is transmitted through the medium ofthe pull rods 32 and 33 to the brake beam 9. It will be seen, therefore,that the movement of the push rod I 3 of the cylinder DI applies all thebrake shoes on the forward sides of the wheels with equal stresses. Theoutward movement of the push rod I3 of the brake cylinder D2 similarlyacts, through the brake cylinder lever 34 and strap link 42 to applypower to the main equalizer lever 35, which power is transmitted inequal stresses by means of the links 43 and 44 to the auxiliaryequalizer levers 36' and 31. At the auxiliary equalizer levers 36 and 31the power divides and one-third of this power is transmitted to thebrake beam 8 by means of the members 45 and 46, while the remainingtwo-thirds of this power is transmitted through the medium of the pullrods 41 and 48 to the auxiliary equalizer levers 38 and 39. At theauxiliary equalizer levers 38 and 39 the power again divides andone-half is transmitted to the brake beam 6 through the medium of themembers 49 and 50, while the remaining half is transmitted to the brakebeam 4 by means of the pull rods 5| and 52. It will be seen, therefore,that the outward movement of the push rod I3 of the cylinder D2 acts toapply all the brake shoes on the rear sides of the wheels with equalstresses.

To release the brakes, the fluid which was previously supplied to thebrake cylinders DI and D2 is vented to atmosphere in the usual manner,thereby permitting the release spring within the brake cylinders toretract the pistons, and hence permitting the various parts of the brakerigging to move to their release positions.

Although I have herein shown and described only one form of brakerigging embodying my invention, it is understood that various changesand modifications may be made therein within the scope of the appendedclaims without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. In a brake rigging for a six wheel engine truck, in combination,brake shoes disposed on both sides of each wheel, fluid pressureoperated means for moving all of the shoes on the forward sides of thewheels into engagement with the wheels, and other fluid pressureoperated means for moving all of the shoes on the rear sides of thewheels into engagement with the wheels.

2. In a brake rigging for a six wheel engine truck, in' combination, aplurality of brake beams one located on each side of each pair ofwheels, equalizing linkage connected with the brake beams on the forwardsides of the wheels for actuating such brake beams, and other equalizinglinkage connected with the brake beams on the rear sides of the wheelsfor actuating these brake beams. Y

3. In a brake rigging for a six wheel engine truck, in combination, sixbrake beams one located on each side of each pair of wheels, a firstbrake cylinder disposed adjacent one end of said truck, means includinga main equalizer'lever and two pairs of auxiliary equalizer levers forconnecting said brake cylinder with each of the brake beams at theforward sides of the wheels in such manner that an equal force will beapplied to each such brake beam, a second brake cylinder disposedadjacent the other end of said truck, and means including a mainequalizer lever and two pairs of auxiliary equalizer levers forconnecting said second brake cylinder with each of the brake beams atthe rear sides of the wheels in such manner that an equal force will beapplied to each such brake beam.

4. In a brake rigging for a six wheel engine truck, in combination, sixbrake beams one located on each side of each pair of wheels, a firstbrake cylinder disposed adjacent the rear end of said truck, meansincluding a vertically disposed brake cylinder lever pivotally mountedon said truck in rear of the axle connecting the rear pair of wheels foroperatively connecting said first brake cylinder with each of the brakebeams at the forward sides of the wheels, a second brake cylinderdisposed adjacent the forward end of said truck, and means including avertically disposed brake cylinder lever pivotally mounted on said truckin rear of the axleconnecting the forward pair of wheels for operativelyconnecting said second brake cylinder with each of the brake beams atthe rear sides of the wheels.

5. In a brake rigging for a six wheel engine truck, in combination, sixbrake beams one located on each side of each pair of wheels, a firstbrake cylinder disposed adjacent the rear end of said truck, meansincluding a first vertically disposed brake cylinder lever and aplurality of horizontally disposed equalizer levers for operativelyconnecting said first brake cylinder with each brake beam at the forwardsides of the wheels, a second brake cylinder disposed adjacent theforward end of said truck, and means including a second verticallydisposed brake cylinder lever and a plurality of horizontally disposedequalizer levers for operatively connecting said second brake cylinderwith each brake beam at the rear sides of the wheels.

6. In a brake rigging for a six wheel engine truck, in combination, sixbrake beams one located on each side of each pair of wheels, a firstbrake cylinder disposed adjacent the rear end of said truck, meansincluding a first brake'cylinder lever, a first main equalizer lever andfour auxiliary equalizer levers for operatively connecting said firstbrake cylinder with each brake beam at the forward sides of the wheels,a second brake cylinder disposed adjacent the forward end of the truck,and means including a second brake cylinder lever, a second mainequalizer lever and four auxiliary equalizer levers for operativelyconnecting said second brake cylinder with each brake beam at the rearsides of the wheels.

'7. In a brake rigging for a six wheel engine truck, in combination, sixbrake beams one located on each side of each pair of wheels, a firstpair of equalizer levers each operatively connected at one end with thebrake beam at the forward side of the middle pair of wheels and at theother end with the brake beam at the forward side of the front pair ofwheels, a second pair of equalizer levers each operatively connected atone end with the brake beam at the forward side of the rear pair ofwheels and at the other end with a different lever of said first pairintermediate its ends, a first main equalizer lever connected at itsends with the equalizer levers of said second pair intermediate theirends, a first brake cylinder operatively connected with said first mainequalizer lever intermediate its ends, a third pair of equalizer leverseach operatively connected at one end with the brake beam at the rearside of said middle pair of wheels and at the other end with the brakebeam at the rear side of the rear pair of wheels, a fourth pair ofequalizer levers each' operatively connected at one end with the brakebeam at the rear side of the forward pair of wheels and at the other.end with a difierent one of the equalizer levers of said third pairintermediate its ends, a second main equalizer lever operativelyconnected at its ends with the equalizer levers of said fourth pairintermediate their ends, and a second brake cylinder operativelyconnected with said second main equalizer lever intermediate its ends.

8. In a brake rigging for an engine truck, in combination, brake shoesdisposed on both sides ofeach wheel, two brake cylinders one disposed ateach end of the truck, means including a vertically disposed brakecylinder lever located in rear of the forward axle for connecting thebrake cylinder at the forward end of the truck with all of thebrakeshoes at the rear sides of the wheels,

the truck with all of the brake shoes at the forward sides of thewheels. 7

WILLIAM A. GANTNER.

